There are three fundamental criteria to determine the moment from which artistic expressions can be called contemporary:
1. Art and contemporary age: it is related to the beginning of the Contemporary Age, at the end of the 18th century, with the French Revolution, between 1789 and 1799. Contemporary art begins with romanticism characterized by the emphasis on freedom, individuality, feelings and subjectivity.
2. Contemporary art and avant-garde: it is what emerged at the beginning of the 20th century and the works highlight the ideas that revolutionized the institution of art.
3. Contemporary art and postmodernism: here we find the works that emerged in the late 60s and early 70s and highlighted the movements of pop art, conceptual art, hyperrealism, among others.